Big Bear Lake or Durango, Colorado?

Neither town is a beach destination, but Big Bear Lake makes swimming easier. Meadow Park has a small supervised swim beach, the lake reaches about 19°C at the height of summer, and the long dry season gives you more warm afternoons for a dip from the sandy patches between the rocks.

Durango's water is colder and the season shorter. There is a small swimming area at Lake Nighthorse and some sandy edges at Vallecito Lake, but locals are more likely to float the Animas River through town on inner tubes than to lie on a shore.

Big Bear Lake feeds skiers and hikers with diners, burgers, pizza and barbecue, and many visitors simply cook in their cabins. It is fuel rather than an attraction, and winter weekends bring queues.

Durango eats noticeably better. Main Avenue has green-chile Southwestern plates, steakhouses and a few careful kitchens cooking Colorado lamb, trout and local produce. Its craft breweries are unusually good for a town this size. The choice is still small, but there is a regional flavour that Big Bear lacks.

Big Bear Lake has very little to see. There is the Discovery Center on the forest, a small history museum and a dirt-road drive past old mining remains from the 1860s gold rush in Holcomb Valley, and the chalet-style Village is mostly modern.

Durango has a real past you can walk through. The steam locomotives leave from the old depot and the roundhouse museum shows them up close. The downtown blocks of brick and sandstone Victorian hotels and saloons date from the mining boom, and the college on the mesa holds a respected Southwestern and Native American collection. It is still only a morning's worth, but it gives the town a character Big Bear does not have.

Both are early-to-bed mountain towns, but Durango has more going on after dark. Big Bear's evenings come down to some après-ski near the slopes, a brewpub or sports bar, and then the hot tub back at the cabin.

Durango has taproom patios along Main Avenue, old saloons with a piano player, and students from the college who keep a few bars busy at weekends. You will not find dancing or anything late in either town.

Big Bear Lake is a lake ringed by pine and oak, with gentle mountains around it. You can sail, kayak and fish on the water, take short hikes to Castle Rock and Cougar Crest, walk a section of the Pacific Crest Trail and ski modestly on snowmaking at two areas above the south shore, with bald eagles around the lake in winter.

Durango sits under the San Juan Mountains, a far wilder range with peaks above 4,000m in the Weminuche Wilderness. It is one of the best-known mountain-biking centres in the country, the Colorado Trail starts just north of town and there is white water through the middle of town. The ski resort to the north has deep natural snow and nordic trails, so serious hikers, riders and paddlers will find more to do here.

From Big Bear the roads are slow and the destinations modest. Lake Arrowhead is about an hour round the Rim of the World road, and Oak Glen's orchards and the Mission Inn in Riverside are further down the mountain. Los Angeles or Palm Springs means a long day.

Durango has some of the best day trips in the American West. There are the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde and the steam train up the Animas canyon to the mining town of Silverton. The Aztec ruins, part of the Chaco UNESCO listing, are under an hour south, and Chimney Rock and Pagosa Springs lie to the east. A car is needed, but the trips are worth the miles.

Both work well for families, in different ways. Big Bear is built around snow play for Southern California children: sledding hills, beginner ski lessons, then the alpine slide, go-karts, mini-golf and pedal boats in summer, plus the small Alpine Zoo with its rescued bears and bobcats. Roomy cabins with kitchens make it easy.

Durango suits slightly older, more active children. They can ride the steam train, raft and tube gently on the river, ride the alpine coaster and ziplines in summer and climb the ladders at Mesa Verde. It has no zoo and few rainy-day options, and the longer drives add up.

You need a car in both. The difference is in the details. Big Bear's steep access highways can need snow chains in winter and crawl on busy weekends, and most cabins are scattered on hilly forest roads. Only the Village and its trolley link to the ski areas work without driving.

Durango's centre is small and flat. You can walk from the depot to the top of Main Avenue in a quarter of an hour, and a paved riverside trail is good for cycling. Its trailheads and day trips are spread along mountain highways, though, and many visitors rent a car at the regional airport.

Big Bear's Village is fudge shops, bear-themed souvenirs, a few antique and decor stores and outfitters renting ski and lake gear, enough for an hour.

Durango's Main Avenue has more worth buying. There are Navajo and Pueblo silver and turquoise jewellery, rugs, art galleries, Western boots and serious bike, fishing and climbing shops. Neither has fashion or luxury, but Durango's turquoise and outdoor kit justify a proper browse.

The two cost much the same, and in both the timing decides the bill. At Big Bear, a shared cabin midweek with your own cooking can be reasonable, while winter weekends and school vacations push rates and lift tickets up sharply.

Durango is cheaper than the famous Colorado ski towns, but rooms are scarce in summer and peak ski weeks. A hire car, the train and guided rafting add to the cost, and spring and late autumn are the thrifty seasons.

There is little on stage in either town, but Durango has more. Big Bear has a community arts centre with local theatre, free summer concerts by the lake and Bavarian bands at its long-running Oktoberfest.

Durango has a summer festival of chamber and orchestral music and a college concert hall with touring musicians and dance. In summer there are two Western extras: a Victorian melodrama where you boo the villain, and cowboy music shows with a chuckwagon supper.

The difference comes down to hot water from the ground. Durango has mineral pools fed by a natural spring a few minutes north of town, with more spring-fed pools at Pagosa Springs and Ouray, ideal after a ride or a ski day. The town stays calm and unhurried.

At Big Bear, relaxing means the private hot tub and wood stove of a rented cabin. There are a few day spas but no springs, and the crowds on winter weekends spoil the quiet.